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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. face — to point toward
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — happy
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — to wash
  10. court — of law
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. clip — for paper
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. content — the amount
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. face — part of the head
  19. court — of a king
  20. fork — in a road
  21. face — to confront
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. shower — rain
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com